The present invention relates to the field of transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs) and films. Conventional materials for TCEs include thin films of transparent oxides (TCOs), which have reasonable electronic performance. However, for many industrial applications, conventional materials have problems such as film brittleness, low infrared transmittance, and low abundance, limiting their suitability for many applications. To overcome these limitations, several new generation TCEs based on graphene, carbon nanotubes, metal nanowire networks, and metal mesh are proposed.
Silver nanowire based TCEs are often used in touch screen products. Graphene and carbon nanotube based TCEs are being studied in research labs, but have yet to reach the stage of being fully commercialized. Metal mesh or metal grid TCEs are promising alternatives that can offer superior performance compared to traditional oxide based TCEs and silver nanowire based TCEs. However, their high manufacturing cost and complicated manufacturing process have hindered the development and application of metal grid TCEs.